Crochet Coaster!

Using a pattern from this website, I decided to stop wasting paper towels and create myself a coaster for my coffee at work. I used a Sugar n' Cream yarn that had a variety of green and blue colors, so came out looking unique!

Dream Catchers

I decided to make some Dream Catchers with with boys and we have a great time trying different patterns and colors.

Supplies:
+Hoop (Metal ring from craft store or dried grapevine)
+Felt
+Hot Glue or Craft glue
+Yarn

Put Glue on one side of a inch strop of felt

Wrap the felt with glue around the hoop

Beginning wrapping the yarn around the hoop

Home Depot Kids Workshop - Bird Feeders

The boys were actually awake before 10am on a Saturday, so we went down to the Home Depot kids workshop and the boys had a great time! They each made a bird feeder, which they decided not to paint and keep them brown and natural looking. On our way home we grabbed some Kaytee Wild Bird Feed and were ready to enjoy some wildlife in our little corner of the world!

Egg Decorating!

This year the boys and I wanted to do something slightly different with our Easter eggs! So we decided to try and decoupage idea I had been seeing on the internet. We colored our eggs with standard egg dyes and then let them dry completely. Then we took one layer of some spring decorated napkins I had picked up from the dollar store, and cut them into strips and little sections. I didn't have actual decoupage glue so I took basic white glue and mixed it 1:1 with water. We put the glue solution onto the eggs, placed on strips of the napkins and then gently put more glue solution on that. It was easy to tear and the boys lost a bit of patience, but it was fun and the eggs were different and unique! Overall the boys said it was great and want to try it again next year.

Spring Nail Art (Ombre Style)

Pic is before I was able to get the extra paint off my skin.

For spring I really wanted to try something new with my nails and decided to try a new thing I had seen online recently called 'Ombre'. Ombre has been used in hair styles, and more recently in nail art. Ombre is a french term referring to 'blending' of typically 2-3 or more colors.

I took some tips and technique ideas from a few different websites, but these are the basic steps I took.

Step 1: Paint the nails either a White base coat or the lightest color you're going to use to blend. Let dry completely.

Step 2: You can cut the sponges in about half since that would be plenty to cover the entire of your nail. Then you will take the sponge and put it in water and ring it out a bit, this is so that it will not quickly absorb your polish.

Step 3: Then you will take the colors you are using and paint a line on the sponge covering the enough to cover your nail.

Step 4: Take the painted sponge and dab it onto your nail. You will dab a few times, and it's okay to smear it around a little as it adds to the blending and color.

You will need a new sponge for every nail or repaint the same sponge if your nails are about the same length. Just be careful where you place the sponge as you will want to be sure the blending colors are in the middle. Also, one suggestion was to always have the darker color at the bottom of your nail, rather than the tip, or it will just look like you have dirty nails.

Supplies:
White Polish (optional)
2-3 Colors Polish
Makeup Wedge Sponges
Top Coat (optional)
Quick Dry Drops (optional)

Spring into Creativity ~ 3/29/13 Fleece Blanket

Fleece Blankets

These are super fun and easy to make, and you get a great gift or lap blanket as well! I had made my boys each one of these a few years back and had been wanting to make myself a panda one recently. I finally found some good panda fabric I was happy with so decided to make a blanket to keep at work. (My desk gets really cold at night for some reason!) Anyhow, I got two yards of each fabric color, using the panda fabric and a black fabric since it matches well. I actually don't want my blanket to be that big though so I cut both in half in order to create 2 blankets, one for home and one for work. I've even thought of making a twin size blanket, which would be about 2 yards each. Note that if you used licensed fabric (such as Disney, Sports Teams, etc) they tend to come in a smaller width than basic colored fabric. 

First step is to lie out the fabric so the edges meet up. Then cut each corner, using a ruler, I chose to cut a 3 inch square. You will want to cut the length you are going to create they fray for tying. If you want more fray you would use 4 inches, if its for a baby or toddler it is recommend to have less fray so you could use 2 inches.

Next you'll go around the entire fabric cutting the fray. Using a ruler, you'll want them to be about 1 inch wide, and make sure to to use the ruler to verify that they're all the same length  in which I was doing 3 inches. 

When you're done cutting then you'll want to begin tying. I suggest a double tie, then you don't have to worry about them coming apart. The trick is to tie every other one, and then flip the fabric over to tie the remaining fray. This will make it even and not curved inwards. When you're done you are ready to cuddle up with some hot cocoa and a good book!

Spring into Creativity ~ 3/23/13 Totem Pole

As a school project my son had to create a totem pole so of course he came to me to help. He selected a dog (because he protects those he loves), a monkey (because he is playful and silly) and a fox (because he is resourceful and it is his middle name). He drew the animals on a piece of firewood in pencil then he painted the animals faces. After they dried overnight he drew in the details with a sharpie marker. This would be a great family project as well with each family member choosing their own animal to represent them.